New advice on how to treat coronavirus has been issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it also begins a wide-reaching study into the effects of so-called "long COVID".
For COVID-19 patients at home, WHO is now suggesting the use of a pulse oximetry machine to measure oxygen levels in the blood - but warns that this should only be done after full patient education and with medical follow-up support if necessary.
For hospitalised patients, WHO is recommending the use of low-dose anticoagulants to prevent clots forming in blood vessels, known as thrombosis.
And for sufferers who are already using supplemental oxygen, the organisation is officially endorsing the positioning of patients on their stomachs to increase oxygen flow. This is known as "awake prone positioning".
The new guidelines also include a recommendation that healthcare professionals favour "clinical judgement over models" in making decisions for individual patients.
Source: Sky News, 26 January 2021
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